City leaders in Midvale, Utah, are condemning a local woman following the posting of a now-viral video where she verbally and physically attacked a Utah family solely based on the fact that the husband and child are Black.
In the video, the woman, identified as Kathryn Smith, even threatens the couple’s young son, promising to feed him to her hybrid African cats.
R. Michael McWhorter, a popular antiracism TikToker, known as Tizzy Ent., shared a video outlining numerous instances of Smith approaching the family. Posted on Monday, Dec. 11, the video has been viewed over 1 million times in less than 24 hours.
The community and elected officials have expressed their outrage over the disturbing content he highlights in the 6:34 minute clip, questioning why it has taken authorities so long to arrest her.
Over 100 videos, documented by the mother of the targeted family using her cellphone and a home security camera, depict Smith repeatedly hurling obscenities at the family’s residence. The woman is captured walking up to their property, fiddling with their vehicle, and sometimes, in the middle of the night, driving her car to their home and parking in front of it.
Multiple videos show Smith specifically targeting the couple’s 9-year-old son, whom Tizzy says “lives in fear.”
According to the vlogger, the elementary student looks outside to ensure the woman is not outside when he wants to play in his family’s yard.
Smith is seen on surveillance video telling the boy, “Get in your house n—r… Stay in your own house n—r.” One clip shows the boy and his friend running after seeing her car approach, and as she passes, the boy puts his fingers in his ears as she continues her racist rants while driving by.
McWhorter says the woman has chased the boy and once said, “I have savanna cats from Africa. … I’m going to feed you to my savanna cats.”
“My cats are going to eat you,” she reportedly threatened.
Another clip shared in the video filmed in June 2023, shows the mother asking her to leave her child alone. Smith refuses and instantly escalates into name-calling and spewing vulgarities at the pregnant mom.
The angry woman acknowledges her neighbor is with child, even saying the baby in her stomach has “nappy hair,” before poking the mother in the stomach. There is no video of the assault, but McWhorter does note that Smith was charged with assault, and a warrant was issued for her.
As per police records, Smith is charged with assault for allegedly “forcibly” poking and pushing “with both hands” the victim’s stomach.
McWhorter noted several warrants had been issued for Smith for various offenses, including speeding, failing to register an expired vehicle, property damage, and assault. One offense she was charged with happened in July. Smith was charged with property damage, allegedly ripping up the family’s garden at their home.
At the time of this writing, it is unknown if any of the warrants have been executed.
The TikTok influencer claims the Unified Police Department, who has been called at least twice, informed the family that the reason for not detaining her was her First Amendment right to free speech. McWhorter asserts that despite this, her hate speech constitutes a crime, and he believes she should be arrested.
The city of Midvale released a statement after seeing the TikTok video, sent to them by McWhorter’s office and multiple constituents.
After condemning her behavior, calling it “disgusting,” the city distanced itself from Smith, perhaps because McWhorter said she is a former prosecutor.
“Kathryn Smith, the person in the video, has never worked for Midvale City. We would never tolerate this behavior by an employee,” the statement read.
The city’s mayor, Marcus Stevenson, released a statement on his social media that said, “It’s hard to describe how disgusted I feel learning that one of our Midvale families is living in a situation where they are dealing with regular racist tirades and feeling their safety is at risk.”
“To be clear, racism has no place in our community. Everyone should feel welcomed here,” before stating he is working with city management and the police department to bring justice to the family.
State Rep. Andrew Stoddard tweeted his denouncement, declaring he, too, is working with officials to “resolve the situation.”
“I’m mortified for the family. I’m embarrassed it is happening,” City Councilman Bryant Brown said, according to FOX 13. “There are no excuses. I will get to the bottom of it.”
The family has secured an attorney to help them navigate their pursuit of justice.
